The best signature move

Four contenders. The IVA flick, the MSD stumping, the KP surge and... the great Sri Lankan dry-pitch con job

December 2016

The Viv Richards leg-side flick
By Kamran Abbasi

You don't take Viv Richards down. I've seen him hit by a bumper and the ball slide off him like a sponge thrown at granite. I've seen him bowled for a duck and still swagger off the pitch. In the mind of King Viv these are simply moments of odd luck in a bowler's favour, for in his realm, in those royal 22 yards, an opponent is to be cut down with his SS Jumbo.

When you are growing up and you see a man like Richards bat, you want to bat like him. When you are older, you realise you'll never see a batsman like him again. We know about the swagger. Others swagger too, but it's never been so natural or intimidating. We know about the gum-chewing smile, bum jutting towards square leg in a straight-kneed stance, head cocked towards the bowler atop shoulders that seem as broad as the body is tall. We know what follows is beautiful brutality with no empathy for a bowler's impotence.

We hear much talk of modern batting, of switch hits and ramp shots. Richards didn't need any of those. Richards' style was to see ball, hit ball - anywhere. That isn't to say he couldn't play orthodox. His off-drive was quite upright but imperious; the ball might have been fired from a cannon. His pull was by arrangement with the bowler, who barely finished his action before Richards was swaying to the off side to thump him to the boundary. His on-drive was perfectly balanced, an exquisite blend of power and timing.

In defence, he'd pat the ball down as if it was the head of a docile kitten, to mock the lollipop deliveries of the world's most fearsome bowlers. But a Richards defensive stroke was a grand anticlimax, an obscene waste of talent. Here was a man made for destruction.

Speed, spin, late movement, early movement, the ball took a hell of a beating. When the mood took him, Richards stepped back a pace or two to free his arms and drive expansively through the off side. Whether it was a four or six was a matter of whimsy. It was unstoppable. It was signature. Indeed, all his moves were. He had so many signatures that you'd need an autograph book to capture them.

I've seen Richards hit by a bumper and the ball slide off him like a sponge thrown at granite. I've seen him bowled for a duck and still swagger off the pitch

But the one that sticks with me is the way Richards played through leg. Yes, Richards was good off his legs. Fire one at his body and he flicked it away, as any world-class batsman might do, except with more venom. No, it isn't that routine stroke that interests me. Richards did something else, something more breathtaking, something that established his supremacy early in an encounter.

Batting at No. 3, he faced the world's best. Lillee and Thomson. Botham and Willis. Imran, Kapil and Hadlee. They spat venom and smelt blood. The pitches were rough, green or uneven. Richards didn't wear a helmet. They wanted to humble the mighty West Indies. They wanted Richards and his West Indians to grovel. Richards would smile. He'd swagger. He'd chew gum. He'd prod the pitch. He'd pat a few heads of docile kittens.

The bowler felt on top, so chest-thumpingly on top that he'd deliver a ball of perfect length darting in at off stump. Instead of patting back down the line, instead of stepping back and driving expansively through the off side, which it was too early to do, Richards had a third way. He moved with an effortless grace, as if merely readjusting that straight-kneed stance. His front leg moved forward and across his stumps, more across than forward, covering them, a certain lbw - for any man but King Viv, that is.

Next, Richards delivered his stroke, his signature move. Across his straight-kneed front leg, in a feat of immaculate timing and rippling power, he'd flick his hands over the ball, a flick that began as a twitch of his mighty shoulder pivots and ended with a snap of wrists, plucking it from its off-stump trajectory and pistoling it into or over the leg-side boundary. The message was delivered. King Viv was seizing control of his kingdom.

Forward and across, with power and poise, from straightened knees and mighty shoulders, he felled the world's best bowlers. They grovelled before him. If anybody else tried it, it looked like a slog, uncouth and uncultured. When Vivian Richards moved forward and across and flicked to leg, it was a shot of brutal beauty, a signature move to signal the demolition.

The word "evolution" in the context of wicketkeeping frustratingly ends at how Adam Gilchrist turned that player into a batsman first and a gloveman second. Batting has evolved beyond recognition with the advent of the two limited-overs formats and the never-ending improvement in protective equipment and bats. Bowling has evolved with slower balls, reverse swing and the doosra. Wicketkeeping, a job behind the stumps, has only evolved in front of them.

MS Dhoni the wicketkeeper is different; yet when you think of a Dhoni signature it is always to do with his batting: the helicopter shot, the quick running, the calculated finish. I have not watched the Dhoni biopic, authorised and promoted by the man himself, and produced by his friend and manager, but none of the promos shows him keeping wicket, and I am willing to wager that the movie does not delve into that aspect. It is a shame because, with due respect to collecting throws in front of the stumps, wearing helmets while standing up to the quicks and the advance in general athleticism, Dhoni's stumping technique is the only evolutionary step in the actual art of wicketkeeping.

Wicketkeepers tend to follow the laws of physics when they collect hard cricket balls. Which is, take the hands back to absorb the blow and make sure the ball doesn't fall out. When it comes to stumpings, especially when the ball is turning and bouncing, keepers go back with the ball a little to collect it cleanly before moving towards the stumps. There is a precious half-second lost there. Dhoni doesn't go back. His gloves are always moving towards the stumps. It is as if along the way he just picks up a stationary object and whips the bails off with it.

It is an act whose finality is beyond doubt. You miss the ball with Dhoni behind the stumps and you know you have no time to get back. Usually on pitches with turn and bounce, you can always hope to return to the crease because the more the action on the ball the more a wicketkeeper has to go back with his gloves. This doesn't apply to Dhoni. The impact is most visible when batsmen are stumped playing the forward defensive. The ball dips a little and drags the back foot over, but it has to turn past the bat to beat it, which means a regular wicketkeeper takes that much time to allow batsmen to get back into the crease. With Dhoni you are stumped by the time alarm bells ring in your mind.

Dhoni almost never misses a stumping even though his hands are never going back to soften the blow. It is the reliability that makes it a signature move

This is no party trick, and he has many - for instance, sticking his right leg out perpendicularly to stop a late cut, even as the hands follow the ball should it miss the bat. Dhoni almost never misses a stumping or a catch even though his hands are never going back to soften the blow. It is the reliability that makes it a signature move.

By all accounts, and by all I have seen in the India nets over the years, Dhoni hardly practises keeping. He rarely talks about it. His fielding coaches have little idea how he does it. Behind the scenes, though, he works hard and has done. He spends a lot of time on his wicketkeeping in his houses in Delhi and Ranchi. A current wicketkeeper on the circuit has had conversations with Dhoni about his technique and he says Dhoni can manage it because he has done it since he was a boy. Others don't even try.

At a young age, as with many things he did in his own way because of a mind that questioned norms, Dhoni knew he wanted to save time. I am not sure if he ever watched or spoke to the only man I have seen pull off such stumpings in international cricket, Sadanand Viswanath. Like Viswanath, Dhoni trained himself to not let his elbows go behind his body when collecting the ball standing up to the stumps. He never shied from wearing a helmet to protect himself; being effective was better than looking flash. Then hours went into perfecting the move. His strength, especially in the wrists, compensates for the control he loses by not giving himself time.

The result is an act of beauty that hasn't been given its due. Indian broadcasters nowadays seem to have a Kohli cam that captures everything Virat Kohli does on the field: running in with the ball, reacting to the delivery, to the shot, appealing, celebrating, despairing, cheering, fighting, scratching his beard. The Dhoni stumpings are already caught on tape from multiple angles, and before he goes for good, I hope some producer decides to play them out for the world on loop. That would be a trip.

I'll never forget Super Saturday of the London Olympics: Kevin Pietersen was batting. Pietersen's awesome 149 against South Africa at Headingley left a far greater imprint on my memory than the orgy of patriotism that accompanied arguably Britain's most celebrated day of sport. He didn't win a Test, never mind a gold medal, but the ethereal majesty with which he took apart the best pace attack in the world prompted a tremulous gratitude I shall always remember. The visceral thrill was such that it was impossible to sit still - and not just while the innings was going on. When I went home that night I tried to watch a film, couldn't concentrate and put the highlights of the cricket on, twice.

Pietersen was associated with many shots - the switch hit, the slog sweep, the flamingo - but his greatest skill was what we might call the KP surge: when he would decide, as if on a whim, to take a bowler or an attack apart; when his mere presence at the crease was a newsflash. It might only last half an hour or an hour. That was enough: the resounding impact of the Pietersen surge meant it was invariably match-winning. When he made a double-century against India at Lord's in 2011, his half-centuries came from 134 balls, 82, 85 - and finally 25 as he ran riot. He did not so much trouble the scorers as terrorise them. He did it against all opponents and in all contexts; he could kick an opponent when they were up or down. He did it in all formats too, but the elevated significance of his Test-match surges made them the most exhilarating thing I have seen in cricket.

The best things about watching sport are genius, unpredictability and partisanship. As an England fan, the Pietersen surge involved all three. It was an almost psychedelic experience. Those innings were a cure for shyness; they made you want to tell someone, anyone, that Pietersen was on one. In sport it's extremely rare for the reality to exceed the fantasy; with Pietersen that happened on multiple occasions. He didn't deal in the impossible; he dealt in the unimaginable, remixing existing shots and inventing new ones. It's no surprise that the majority of his most famous shots came during a surge, when he was in a higher state of concentration.

As a sports journalist you can become anaesthetised. The KP surge took me back to being a fan, and being a kid, lost in the wonder of astonishing sport

In his superb book Kevin Pietersen on Cricket, he observed that being in the zone did not, as we tend to think, mean seeing the ball big; it meant seeing it slow. Two shots demonstrated that better than others: the dreamy pull off Dale Steyn during his 149 at Headingley, and the laziest driven six over extra cover off Pragyan Ojha in his immense 186 in Mumbai later that year. There were a few exceptions, most notably the chest-beating duel with Brett Lee during his Ashes-winning 158 in 2005, but the Pietersen surge was usually defined by a serene control and an aura of invincibility. He gave the world's great bowlers a crash course in futility.

There was no pattern to when all this might occur, and he has struggled to understand the frequency with which he entered the zone. The most common trigger seemed to be defiance - of opponents, the media, poor form, or even, at Headingley in 2012, his own team-mates. He might be stimulated by the desire to show off, the match situation or the weather. In Colombo in 2012, he decided he simply could not bat time in the 45-degree heat. So he hit one six, and then he hit another, and soon he'd made 151 from 165 balls.

That aura of invincibility could be deceptive. For every legendary surge, there were three or four where he got himself out just as word was spreading that something magical might be happening. That jeopardy added to the thrill of the experience, and the reward when he pulled it off was that you could sit at close of play trying to fathom what you had just witnessed. As a sports journalist you can become anaesthetised. The KP surge took me back to being a fan, and being a kid, lost in the wonder of astonishing sport.

Rob Smyth is the author of Gentlemen and Sledgers: A History of the Ashes in 100 Quotations

If a government job is the most stable employment in South Asia, cricket administration is perhaps the most volatile. Cricket Australia has been stuck with James Sutherland for the better part of two decades. Giles Clarke looks and sounds like Jurassic calcium deposit, and upholds the hairstyle and values of an even earlier age. In South Asia - and Sri Lanka, in particular - cricket governance is forever enlivened by summary firings, interim-committee appointments, judicial injunctions, hostile takeovers, ad-hoc cocktail lunches, impromptu travel junkets, temperamental office Wi-Fi, and so on.

So when out of this chaos order emerges, it does seem wondrous. And in no instance do administrators, ground staff, team management and cricketers collude to such consistently fruitful effect as in the preparation of dry tracks for foreign teams.

It begins with the curator. In years gone by there may have been some head-scratching as to whether dry tracks are appropriate for certain visiting teams. Helpfully, the cricket world has since organised itself into two distinct groups: teams who can barely play spin, and teams who would rather self-immolate.

When the latter sort arrive at the ground, the curator smilingly assures them that, of course, there will be some pace and bounce, not to worry, it always looks like this before a Test, and actually, this is quite like the one that South Africa had won a game on a few years back, you'll see, and oh, put the opposition in to bat definitely. Not long after, he instructs his ground staff to scrub the surface down with coir brushes and warns them not to spill so much as a bead of sweat while they do. The curator has, of course, been instructed to prepare a surface just good enough to avoid ICC censure. Just to make sure, board officials are buttering up the match referee, their guest of honour in the extravagant pre-series tamasha.

Helpfully, the cricket world has since organised itself into two distinct groups: teams who can barely play spin, and teams who would rather self-immolate

By the eve of the match a little tension has built up, but the tourists are concealing their fears. The visiting captain will make assertive, leader-like comments at his media appearance. They know it will spin, but his men are up to the challenge, he will say. They have trained so hard, they are the best-prepared outfit not just in the history of cricket but also of preparation. And, he says, the top order did continuous trust-falls and sang around the campfire in their team-building jamboree until all memory of traumatic past tours was wiped out.

But then the match begins and things begin to go badly. The arm ball proves destructive initially, so the batsmen meet and decide to watch closely for it. The turning ball duly wreaks havoc the next day. Soon they begin to speak of spin bowling as if it is some kind of voodoo. Physically they are deteriorating, like someone is sticking pins into dolls made in their visage. Batsmen are sweating profusely in the heat. They are developing tinnitus from the constant cawing of the vultures around the bat. The legs are not quite moving as they should. The bowler's variations look identical out of the hand, so maybe the eyes are packing up.

By now, almost everything the home spinners touch is turning into a wicket. They had smiled graciously while the fast bowlers were given their token two overs with the new ball, but before long, lost patience and strode to the bowling crease to dispatch them to the boundary. "That was cute, machan, but it's time to really start playing now." For much of the game, the fast bowlers trudge from position to distant position in the field. By the end they have had less impact on proceedings than, say, the sightscreen attendants.

The home side eventually saunters to victory. The usual post-match reflection follows. About 48 hours pass. When another dry pitch is unveiled at the next venue, the visiting captain cannot drum up any bravado. This time he knows what he is really looking at: a funeral pyre.

LOGIN TO POST YOUR COMMENTS

VENKATESH: Your comment gives an idea of your knowledge of the game. I however disagree with your last sentence. "Rest may have played in patches". Batting is an art mastered by the many greats, present and past at different levels . It's difficult to compare grace elegance,aggression temperaments and much more. Viv Richards whom I deeply admired is undoubtedly greatness,but he is not the most graceful of them. Sehwag was pure aggression,in his own way, he was very successful,but lacked technical correctness. There are dozens of technically correct and gracious stroke players who have made their impact on the minds of fans across the globe. I will name a few, BC Lara,S Tendulkar,K Sangakara (the epitome of grace) R Kanhai,G Sobers, R Richardson, R pointing S Waugh,Greg Chappel,E Weeks,G Headly,S Gavaskar and much more. If we are to narrow our view,then we will work against the facts,if not the truth. We must be pragmatic.

POSTED BY jaswant on | December 22, 2016, 15:51 GMT

The tide has brought many,many great bats,but it would be difficult to compare any to the "King'. Sir Viv,King Viv was irrepressible,he was the gladiator who brought onto the cricket field, the unseen guest,"fear". Cool and calm he went about his business,demolishing bowlers of every class and category. Viv was the mold of a model superstar who was distinguishable from the rest. Without a helmet, he savagely cut,pulled,drove,heaved and much more to those who catapulted a cricket ball at him.Yet with those strong and admirable muscles which wielded his wooden club,grace and serenity were ever present in every stroke. I was at Bourda cricket ground in 1985, New Zealand VS WI. In that match D Haynes made a well compiled 90,Sir R Richardson a masterly 185,M Crowe an essayed 188, there were a few other good scores,but I has the once in a lifetime opportunity to see the King making a remarkable 40. Though he did not make a century,it was good enough to watch a supreme star in action.

POSTED BY Venkatesh Venkatesh on | December 21, 2016, 11:01 GMT

Vivi c Richards Probably the best right hand batsman that WI had and world cricket have seen who can smack to ball to wish anywhere England cricketers had that during 1979 world cup campaign when WI was crawling when their first five batsman were out for meg ere total he and Collis King put WI back on track took WI total beyond the reach of England in the process completed brilliant century the last ball of last over from Mike Hendrick which was out side off stump was deposited between mid wicket and mid on for maximum was the shot of the match , the best fielder too any where played significant role in World cup in 1975 which WI won , it is still difficult to replace this personality . Adam Gilchrist also brilliant batsman who can change course of the match when needed and very good keeper too. Sehwag of India was also very good bat and it was very diff cult set field for him was known to all and powerful hitter too . Rest might have played in patches

POSTED BY sports_freakz on | December 20, 2016, 18:02 GMT

I grew up in the 90s and 2000s so havent watched a lot of the great hookers and pullers of the 70s, Greg Chappell etc. But the shot that stands out is Ricky Ponting's pull shot. The quick swivel, the smooth hands and the ball was dispatched with ease.Adam G's leg side slog hit (wasnt really a sweep) is memorable as well especially against the spinners. And to add to all the Warne Healy stories - who can forget the last over of the day discussions where they look like they're spinning a master plan while in reality they're discussing dinner plans. The hapless batsman would then leave the ball and get bowled - Basit Ali, Chanders, the list goes on.

POSTED BY ramki.7368414 on | December 20, 2016, 4:12 GMT

Might show my age. Does anyone remember Salim Durrani's effortless sixes on demand when sixers were so rare?

POSTED BY Arun on | December 20, 2016, 3:49 GMT

@UGLYINDIAN : Sehwag showed up plenty of times in Australia.

POSTED BY Leon on | December 20, 2016, 3:29 GMT

I like the Warne-Healy 'hoax'. But in keeping with the memorable Viv 'flick' I immediately thought of the Greg Chappell on-drive up on his toes, the Dennis Lillee sweat removal from the forehead while staring at a batsman or the Ian Redpath sway back to the bouncer.

POSTED BY Raj on | December 20, 2016, 3:24 GMT

From where I sit, the best signature moves in cricket are:
Rohan Kanhai's cover drive and hook
Gary Sobers' high back lift and follow through

POSTED BY ReganR7710392 on | December 20, 2016, 0:22 GMT

What about the Shane Watson LBW review? He was better at reviewing plumb LBWs than anyone in the history of the game...

Seriously though, my favourite signature move was the Steve Waugh dig-Australia-out-of-a-very-deep-hole innings. There's a few batsmen who can turn a match by making it look like they're playing on a different pitch to their teammates, but what set Waugh apart what that he always looked like he was playing on the same pitch, but it was a pitch that he belonged on. I loved it when Australia lost early wickets because it invariably meant I was about to see a great fighting performance. The best example was Old Trafford in 97 when he came in at 3 for not many in each innings and scored a century both times, but he did it so often that it became his trademark.

POSTED BY Sunil on | December 19, 2016, 20:44 GMT

For me it is Tendulkar's punched square drive off the back foot off quicks, either in front or behind cover high elbow and all, dispatching the ball to the boundary in a flash. He played that shot a lot in the 90s, but after the tennis elbow injury, and gaining weight, he cut down on that shot drastically, in favor of accumulation.

Best signature move, which no one else can copy or emulate - Brian Lara's high back-lift and the way he danced in the batting crease!!!

POSTED BY Arvind on | December 19, 2016, 14:51 GMT

It was not quite a "signature shot", but BMac had a knack for inventing some unusual shots. Hitting a yorker for a six **over the wicketkeeper's head** was quite a memorable shot.

POSTED BY Arvin on | December 19, 2016, 14:18 GMT

How can you forget those wristy flicks of Md. Azharuddin when it comes of signature shots!

POSTED BY Asseed on | December 19, 2016, 13:43 GMT

Imran's leap, which inspired a generation of fast bowlers who just wanted to copy his bowling action.

POSTED BY cricfan12240262 on | December 19, 2016, 12:53 GMT

AB De Villiers presence . Just presence !!

POSTED BY sajuna1316183 on | December 19, 2016, 12:53 GMT

I love Viv and Veeru, both were very destructive.. In my growing days I used to watch Viv and always tried to copy his signature short, but always failed. I always liked his presence on the ground whether he is batting for fielding. Considering my likeness to Viv, my friends used to and still call me Richards, but I feel shame because I am nowhere with King.

Viv & Veeru, I am missing your game lot.

POSTED BY Ian on | December 7, 2016, 13:23 GMT

Viv Richards and Kevin Pietersen. Two of the most destructive batsmen of all time, in my book. Two batsmen who could change the game single-handedly (other honourable mentions: Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag - but Gilchrist would often (not always) annihilate tiring bowlers, and Sehwag was literally a 'no-show' outside the subcontinent).
2012....that year when Pietersen played more game-changing innings than some so-called 'God(s)' of cricket had played in their entire careers.
That KP surge...it was surreal. It was every bit as awesome as has been described above...and then some.

POSTED BY Ranil on | December 6, 2016, 12:08 GMT

Andrew you 've put it quite aptly, quite nice but do not forget this strategy is the norm for India & Pak in UAE too. Then we get the same dose in England SA NZ & Australia. How revealing was it not only the pitches but to squeeze the Lankan team to the Northern most two coldest pitches in England last time & the team to come out & say 'never seen a green top such as this before' in SA last time. You give what you get ,I'm sure all the SC teams would say.

POSTED BY jasprit on | December 5, 2016, 1:33 GMT

Shane Warne's mannerism and deception is a very good one actually. Many times he would bowl a very average legbreak and the batsman would step forward and play a perfectly fine forward defence. But Shane Warne, being Shane Warne, would just look at the keeper and they would laugh/smile at each other as if the batsman was completely bamboozled and had no idea what happened. That created a doubt in the batsman's mind and sometimes worked too. Also, Murali's Eyes.

POSTED BY jasprit on | December 4, 2016, 17:34 GMT

Virat Kohli's wrists. That cover drive.

POSTED BY ATUL on | December 2, 2016, 9:32 GMT

The 'Shane Warne hoax' was a thing to watch out for me! Even a well spotted leg break and leave would generate oohs and aahs from Warnie and Healy and the batsman would think he better start playing at those! No one has deceived the same batsmen with the same delivery as repeatedly. He would put fear into the batsman who would be expecting miracle deliveries each ball and fall for the simple leg break.